DEFTONES 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Some 19 years later (and not a moment too soon) this great compilation from Nu Metal legends Deftones is seeing its much-needed repress - with an added remastering to sweeten the deal. A tough record to find at a stomachable price for a while, 'B Sides & Rarities' is full of acoustic versions, demos and covers of the likes of The Smiths, Cocteau Twins, The Cure and - most amusingly - Sade. 'Wax and Wane' is a severely underrated cover, a wicked interpretation filled with punchy guitars and, of course, Chino Moreno's mastery of blending metal and new wave vocals. The most popular of the tracks on offer here is, without doubt, 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want', their cover of The Smiths' 1984 B-side to 'William It Was Really Nothing' . It's a rollercoaster of a cover, with a wild guitar solo and filled with the same rumbling, underlying sadness that made the original such a staple. Who doesn't love a melancholic metal song?

Review: No matter what type of project Deftones followed up their career-defining White Pony with, it was destined to disappoint at least some of their devout fanbase. Originally released in 2003, the band's self-titled fourth effort would mark their final collaborative project with iconic producer Terry Date (until reuniting for 2020's Ohms), while notably eschewing much of the "nu-metal" residue that still clung to their sonic makeup. Embracing elements of trip-hop and post-metal, while directly linking the group to the "are they or aren't they shoegaze?" debate which has loomed overhead ever since, the album has seen a steady reassessment from lacklustre follow up to underappreciated gem. With any luck, this reissue should continue to help highlight the cause as cuts such as 'Minerva' still soar with triumphant yet sultry hypnotics while 'Hexagram' serves as one of the heftiest cuts in the band's canon. It didn't even need an additional title. This is simply Deftones, and it still slaps two decades on.

Review: If you're going to re-release a Deftones album with stacks and stacks of bonus material, including remixes by artists ranging from The Cure's Robert Smith to Squarepusher, then White Pony was always going to be a solid choice. First unveiled in 2000, the band's third album marked a major turning point in their career and sound, bringing in far more experimental ideas to the already-alternative metal of their early output.

Two decades on and the original work still holds up to significant scrutiny - the kind of scrutiny bands like Deftones are used to, having created legions of highly obsessed fans during their time on the road and in studios. What makes this revisitation so compelling, though, are the bits and pieces that weren't included with the record first time round, which should keep you busy for quite some time.

Review: The era in which Deftones could be judged as part of the nu-metal herd, dealing out hip-hop influenced riff-ballast with angst to spare, seem like another aeon in light of triumphs like this eight full-lengther, which builds on the brooding and incandescent strains of their most recent work to create a visionary display of art-damaged majesty which veers seamlessly from whisper to scream as only this band can, 'Gore' displays the kind of poise and elan that we've come to expect from this unique band, one who now stand proud alongside the likes of Radiohead and Sigur Ros as an entity whose reach and uncompromising artistry extends beyond genres and generations alike.